Bryaninops loki Larson, 1985

Suzuki, Toshiyuki, Bogorodsky, Sergey V. & Randall, John E., 2012, Gobiid fishes of the genus Bryaninops from the Red Sea, with description of two new species and two new records, Zootaxa 3170, pp. 1-17 : 10-12

Bryaninops loki Larson, 1985

Figures 8–11

Bryaninops loki Larson, 1985: 81 , fig. 13 (type locality, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef).

Material examined: BPBM 41003, 15.4 mm SL, Red Sea, Sudan, Sanganeb Atoll, slope of drop-off, 19°50'N, 37°20'E, on sea whip Junceella rubra , 20–21 m, S.V. Bogorodsky, 6 October 2009.

Diagnosis. Dorsal-fin rays VI + I, 7-I,9, usually I,8; anal-fin rays I, 7-I,9, usually I,8; pectoral-fin rays 15–17; scales usually extending forward to above pectoral-fin base, the longitudinal scale count 33–53 (mean scale count 47); body depth at origin of anal fin 10.5–17.8% SL; body progressively compressed posteriorly; head width slightly greater than head depth; snout short, the length equal to or less than orbit diameter; gill opening extending forward to posterior margin of orbit; one or two canine teeth at side of lower jaw; caudal fin truncate with rounded corners; pelvic fins short, round, and cup-like; pelvic spines short and fleshy; nape and body transparent dorsally with seven narrow red bars that broaden as they pass onto dusky golden ventral part of body (on some individuals, the red and gold tend to merge, making the bars indistinct); a white to pale yellow line visible dorsally on vertebral column. A small species, generally less than 20 mm SL.

Distribution. In the western Pacific from the Ryukyu Islands south to the Great Barrier Reef, Lord Howe Island, and New Caledonia, east to Fiji and Samoa, and the Hawaiian Islands. Only the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, but other localities are expected. We report the species as a first record for the Red Sea from a specimen from Sudan ( Fig. 9 ), and we illustrate it as Fig. 10 taken by Jean Louis Rose in 31 m at Ras Bob on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula, and as Fig. 11 from the Seven Brothers Islands in the Gulf of Aden near the southern end of the Red Sea.

Remarks. The specimen of Bryaninops loki of Fig. 9 from Sanganeb Atoll, Sudan was preserved in 90% ethanol, which explains its near-complete loss of melanin. It should be showing dark brown dots over the posterior half of the body, in contrast to B. discus , which is dotted only on the ventral half of the body posterior to the abdomen.

Bryaninops loki is typically found on species of the sea whip genus Junceella . The third author has underwater photographs of three individuals from different localities in Indonesia and one from the Philippines, all on a sea whip of this genus. Junceella rubra in the Red Sea is usually seen as a group of several individuals vertically oriented from the substratum. As many as a dozen individuals of B. loki may be found in one colonial group of J. rubra , usually with one or two gobies per sea whip.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Bryaninops loki, paratype, ROM 42738, 15.3 mm SL, Chagos Archipelago. Photo by T. Suzuki.

FIGURE 9. Bryaninops loki, BPBM 41003, 15.4 mm SL, Sanganeb Atoll, Sudan. Photo by S. V. Bogorodsky.

FIGURE 10. Bryaninops loki, Ras Bob, southeast Sinai Peninsula. Photo by J. L. Rose.

FIGURE 11. Bryaninops loki, Seven Brothers Islands, Gulf of Aden. Photo by J. E. Randall.